Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Increases Stake in Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its position in Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 233,031 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,400 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Medical Properties Trust were worth $1,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 8.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 93,058,174 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $437,373,000 after acquiring an additional 7,084,981 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 4.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,622,683 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,168,000 after acquiring an additional 328,184 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 22.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,908,362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,775,000 after acquiring an additional 1,274,481 shares during the period. Coatue Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 6,806,501 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060,830 shares during the period. Finally, Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 5,395,068 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,490,000 after acquiring an additional 329,224 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Elizabeth N. Pitman sold 10,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.98, for a total value of $49,924.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 68,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $341,891.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director C Reynolds Thompson III sold 20,530 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $89,921.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,310.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth N. Pitman sold 10,025 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.98, for a total transaction of $49,924.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $341,891.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.53% of the company’s stock.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Medical Properties Trust stock opened at $5.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.93 and a quick ratio of 2.93. Medical Properties Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2.92 and a 1 year high of $6.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $5.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.80. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.68, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.28.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.54) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.75). The firm had revenue of $266.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $259.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Medical Properties Trust, Inc. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medical Properties Trust Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MPW shares. Colliers Securities upgraded shares of Medical Properties Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.50 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Medical Properties Trust to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas cut shares of Medical Properties Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $6.00 to $4.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.22.

Medical Properties Trust Profile

Medical Properties Trust, Inc is a self-advised real estate investment trust formed in 2003 to acquire and develop net-leased hospital facilities. From its inception in Birmingham, Alabama, the Company has grown to become one of the world's largest owners of hospital real estate with 441 facilities and approximately 44,000 licensed beds as of September 30, 2023.